Perched precariously on the cliffs of Sorrento along the Amalfi Coast, Maison La Minervetta hotel showcases spectacular sea views. Each of the 12 nattily nautical rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, and any of the three terraces make an ideal spot for sipping a Negroni and taking in the spectacular Bay of Naples vistas.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A bottle of prosecco on arrival for BlackSmith members; a glass of limoncello on arrival for SilverSmith and GoldSmith members

At the hotel

Our favourite rooms

All rooms are sea-facing with fantastic views: some have floor-to-ceiling windows; some balconies. Rooms 7 and 8, 11 and 12 are adjoining pairs, good for families. The junior suite has two balconies and a large walk-in hydro massage shower, though no bath.

Poolside

The giant outdoor hydro massage tub opens on 1 May each year, with wooden loungers and towels provided.

Packing tips

Nautical but nice attire for sea jaunts: a breton-striped top and some designer boat loafers.

Also

At the main port in Sorrento, where you catch boats to the islands, the hotel can pre-book you a parking space in the underground carpark, which is usually full by 9am.

Children

For 2018 stays, under-12s can share parents’ rooms, with cots provided at no extra charge (book beforehand), and extra beds at €50 a night (€80 in high season). Babysitting can be organised. From 1 January 2019, the hotel is strictly grownups only.

Food and Drink

Top Table

On the terrace with a view of the Bay of Naples.

Dress Code

Insouciant summer cool.

Hotel restaurant

No restaurant: only buffet breakfast and hot eggs and bacon to order. The hotel's dramatic cliff-clinging location means getting to a restaurant involves a steep climb down stone stairs and then a short walk.

Hotel bar

Guests can take drinks anywhere they like in the hotel.

Location

Address

Maison La Minervetta

Via Capo, 25

Sorrento

80067

Italy

Planes

The closest airport is Naples, an hour and a half from the hotel. Rome’s airports are also convenient since it’s only an hour by fast train (www.trenitalia.com) to Naples, and from there an hour on the Cirmumvesuviana (www.vesuviana.it) metro line to Sorrento.

Trains

The Circumvesuviana metro is a 15-minute walk from La Minervetta and on the same line as both Pompeii and Herculaneum. From Naples, you can get to most other Italian cities; see Trenitalia (www.trenitalia.com) for details.

Automobiles

The hotel is an hour and a half from Naples, an hour from Salerno and Vesuvius and 40 minutes from Pompeii. There's free parking.

Other

Arriving by boat takes you via the islands of Ischia and Capri. Boats depart from the Marina Piccola, a 15-minute walk from the hotel, but schedules are seasonal; ask the hotel for timetables. The trip to or from Naples will take you 40 minutes by hydrofoil; if you take the sea metro (metro del mare), it can take between 35 minutes and two hours, depending on the route.

Local restaurants

The Michelin-starred Il Buco, on Il Rampa Marina Piccola, is one of the best restaurants in Sorrento. It’s a good idea to reserve one of the tables outside on a warm summer evening. The taster menu is an excellent choice. Delfino in Marina Grande (+39 (0)81 878 2038) is the place for a relaxed waterside lunch of wonderfully fresh fish and seafood, just down the steps from the hotel. For a more formal lunch, try next door at Taverna Azzurra. Da Gigino, on Via Degli Archi, is the best place for a pizza, and has great spaghetti with clams.

Reviews

Anonymous review

Whizzing around another hairpin bend, I gasp at the sheer drop from this coastal road to the Med. There’s no denying this is a trip already high on drama. A swarm of Vespas zips past. Below us the gozzi – brightly coloured wooden boats – bob in the sapphire-blue water. It’s everything I dreamed of. Uh oh.

As anyone who works in travel will know, you see a lot of images of sleek minimalist bedrooms and turquoise pools in the course of your day, which, I confess, can blur into one. Yet I distinctly remember the first time I saw a photo of the blue-and-white tiled kitchen at La Minervetta. It was 2005, it had just opened, and my eyes boggled. That shot – and one taken looking over the red parasols on the hotel’s terrace down to Sorrento’s harbour and out across to that big blue gulp of the Bay of Naples – has been nagging me ever since. The problem with these kinds of fantasies? When you’re lucky enough to make them a reality, there’s a danger they’ll fall short of your expectations. So it is with bittersweet anticipation that we approach La Minervetta.

‘Turn now!’ I screech, spotting its sign as we climb the hill out of Sorrento. Mr Smith swerves onto a tiny rooftop carpark on the cliff’s edge. ‘Hang on. Where’s the hotel?’ Spotting a lift protruding like a pretty white tardis, I twig it’s right below us. A small set of stairs tempts us into the hotel’s glossy sky-blue lounge.

Ocean-themed objets d’art, witty artworks and mountains of books and magazines confirm this is somewhere considered and cultured. It calls to mind the only internet date I had where the chap who turned up was actually
as handsome as his profile picture: it’s a huge effort not to jump up and down, clapping my hands, and cry, ‘It’s as lovely as I’d hoped!’ (Looking back, it might have helped if I hadn’t done that on the date.) We’re here anonymously and I need to play it cool. Too late. Mr Smith is already gushing about how gorgeous it all is.

Clutching the heavy key to our room, our delightful Sorrentine host escorts us down a flight of stairs. La Minervetta isn’t a fancy-schmancy five-star hotel where they dazzle you with their big talk of facilities and activities: it’s a family-owned boutique bed and breakfast that makes you feel as though you’re residing in their stylish holiday home. Our eyes are drawn by a cute collection of quirky finds on the way to our room. But the sharpest intake of breath is yet to come…

We’re on a corner, and the door opens to reveal a double-take eyeful of that staggering panorama. The vista comes at us in full floor-to-ceiling-window glory. A model sailboat on the sill is all that interrupts the sea – an unashamed nod to the nautical theme. No wonder they’ve positioned two armchairs right there, facing out. What else is there to do but flop into one and admire Capri and Vesuvius in full splendour? I reach for my phone, quickly snap a shot, and upload it to Facebook faster than you can say ‘I’m not being smug; it would just be selfish not to tell the world how wonderful this room’s view is.’ In the time it takes for me to freshen up for supper, 13 friends have hit the ‘like’ button. OK, maybe I am a little smug.

One off-season perk is that this most beloved of destinations is free of the tourists that converge on the Sorrentine Peninsula and Amalfi Coast in summer. We’re a week too early for the lift down to the harbour to be running or the pool to be open, but it seems a fair trade-off for people-free peace.

We ditch the option of taking the 300 steps down to the quiet port and instead drive to Bellevue Syrene, a waterside hotel off a piazza in Sorrento’s centre. Having parked next to a church, we pass a nun and then a monk, both wishing us buona sera – someone up there must want all our dream-holiday wishes to come true. We toast them with a prosecco as a pianist tinkles out a rendition of ‘Tonight, I Celebrate My Love’ on the baby grand.

You might think having a bed that big in a room with that view would make getting out of it challenging. Or that the five courses we ate quite late last night might prompt a lie-in. But remember: I’ve been dreaming of eating in that kitchen for years. The Breakfast Table I’ll Never Forget is piled high with sticky pastries and every possible biscuit, making it look like a cookery-book cover shot. We park ourselves next to an Australian family living in Switzerland, who are just as enamoured with La Minervetta’s colourful, quirky decor and relaxed atmosphere as we are.

Next comes another long-awaited lifetime goal: visiting Positano. The Amalfi Coast drive is in itself celebrated, twisting along the rock’s edge. We wend our way round the waif-thin roads, narrowly missing big buses that confidently hurtle past. When John Steinbeck visited in the 1950s, it was only populated by a few fishermen and lemon farmers. He predicted in an article for Harper’s Bazaar it was too unlikely a candidate for development to ever get busy. Ahem.

Tell you what Steinbeck also said: ‘It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.’ He got that right: it’s truly magical. All I’m wishing now? It won’t be long until it’s very real all over again.

The Guestbook

Whenever you book a stay at a Smith hotel or villa, we’ll invite you to review it when you get back. Read what other Smith members had to say in Maison La Minervetta’s Guestbook below.

We loved

This hotel is a gem in Salerno. We loved the casual vibe and the amazing taste reflected in the design and decoration. Our room was great, super comfortable and with a fantastic view. Service was perfect. They gave us great tips and were extremely kind.

Rating

ByGiulia, SilverSmith

Stayed on 30 May 2018

We loved

Great location with spectacular views, great decor and very friendly helpful staff.

Don’t expect

Breakfast is great but no other meals sre served so head to the harbour to eat but dont expect an easy climb up all the steps back to the hotel!

Rating

ByRobyn, BlackSmith

Stayed on 7 Apr 2018

We loved

Stunning views of Bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius from every room, inspired decor and interior design, private access to nearby harbour restaurants, friendly and helpful staff, relaxed vibe, breakfast on the terrace in the morning, Campari spritz on the terrace in the evening, easy walk to Sorrento centre, quiet location.

Don’t expect

A restaurant in the hotel, but there are plenty nearby.

Rating

ByColin, BlackSmith

Stayed on 3 Apr 2018

We loved

Our second time at this fabulous hotel...our favorite place. 10 stars.

Rating

ByHelen, SilverSmith

Stayed on 30 Mar 2018

We loved

Everything. The location is great, the decor is excellent and the staff go above and beyond to make sure your trip is memorable. We had our 50th birthday celebration and they gave us a set up you cannot get anywhere else! We will be back!

Don’t expect

We did not get the Smith extra as promised when booking with Mr & Mrs Smith.

Rating

ByOmolara, BlackSmith

Stayed on 4 Sep 2017

We loved

This hotel is stunning, its relaxed atmosphere was really refreshing and the interior is amazing! The hotel has a link with the Restaurant Bagni Delfino offering free sunbeds by the sea. The service here is really good and the food was amazing.